The Olympic Torch Protests Continue

(CNN) — The Olympic torch relay was disrupted Monday by protesters in Paris demonstrating against the Chinese government, causing authorities to twice extinguish the flame and put the torch on a bus, according to The Associated Press.

The torch was being carried by a wheelchair athlete when it was halted and extinguished for a second time due to demonstrators shouting, according to AP. Backup flames, also lit from the birthplace of the ancient games in Olympia, Greece, are on call with the relay at all times to relight the torch.

Agencies report that the relay has now resumed.

The incidents came one day after human-rights activist demonstrators made the torch’s journey through London more like running the gauntlet than a journey of celebration, with UK police making more than two dozen arrests.

Thousands of French police are on duty in Paris to protect the Olympic torch, which departed from the Eiffel Tower at around 1030 GMT (0630 ET). It was then due to be carried through the boulevards of the French capital amid anti-China protests, passing landmarks including l’Arc d’Triomphe, the Place de la Concord, The Louvre and Notre Dame.

Thousands of human rights demonstrators have lined the streets of Paris, shouting and waving flags, with police already making several arrests.

Jim Bittermann, CNN’s senior European correspondent based in Paris, said that while it was hard to gauge numbers, it looked like thousands of demonstrators had taken to the boulevards — although some were Chinese backing the Olympics.

“There was a small punch-up between some supporters of Tibet and some supporters of the Olympics,” he added.